Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Summer Research Internship:
This year has been a particularly crucial year in my high school career, not only because of the fast-approaching milestone of college applications, but also because of a research project I have been working on. At my high school, Brooklyn Tech, I am a member of a selective research program called the Weston Research Program that allows a small group of high school students to choose and pursue any STEM-related research topic with or without a mentor, to write a paper, and to then submit it to a competition (usually it’s the New York City Science and Engineering Fair (NYCSEF) and/or Regeneron). Originally, two years ago, my research topic was on the astrochemistry taking place in the environment around a black hole. I was particularly interested in the influence of magnetic field interactions on the production of organic molecules around a black hole. However, after a whole year of preparation, including the writing up of a proposal, I stopped working on this project due to the feasibility of the project. There simply wasn’t access to the data required for my project.
That year, I was introduced to Professor Irwin Shapiro, a professor at Harvard University and an alumnus from my high school. He was kind enough to give his time and effort to helping me with my research, even during that difficult transition point between projects in the summer of 2017. After I realized that my former project wasn’t feasible, I used the opportunity, and the full summer ahead of me, to invest in studying the theoretical groundwork behind general relativity. I taught myself some multivariable calculus to begin to understand the topic I chose. After all, even though my specific research question changed, I resolved to remain close to my favorite astrophysical object: the black hole. At the end of the summer, I was introduced to a new mentor, Dr. Dan D’Orazio, a postdoc at Harvard University, through Professor Shapiro. With Dr. D’Orazio I began work on the second half of my research. Even at this point (August 2017) my research topic was different from what it eventually became. Initially, I hoped to study the quantum mechanical interactions between binary black holes. This is a topic that is just now beginning to blossom with the rise of gravitational wave observatories (remember LIGO in 2015?). For that, I had to learn the fundamentals of quantum mechanics as well. Over time, we whittled down the project to a more focused, core question:
What happens to the gravitational wave energy output from a binary black hole system when the masses of the black holes change over time?
Between around December 2017 and May 2018 we continued doing background research and reading over related papers. During this time, we began to discuss plans for the summer of 2018. Because of my mentor, I was able to spend three weeks at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This opportunity was particularly profound for me because of a tour I had at the CfA four years ago. While attending a party held at my friend’s house (the very same family that would host me this summer), I met an astrophysicist who was a close friend of the hosting family. His name is Dr. Sheperd Doeleman and he is a member of the Black Hole Initiative. He inspired me to enter black hole research after I met him in person and especially after he told me that he’s working on taking the first photo of a black hole! Later that year, he gave my family and I a tour of the CfA. This tour was a turning point in my understanding of astronomy. It was the first time that I truly appreciated the importance of mathematics in the field. It was also the first insight I had into what it is really like to be an astrophysicist. So returning to the CfA after four years felt incredible, with the memories of all the people I met and locations I’ve been to flowing back.
When I arrived, I took the time both to enjoy returning to the Boston area (despite living in Boston for only a year as a kindergartener, I absolutely love the city) and to explore the Harvard campus. To be entirely honest though, the first two weeks were completely absorbing. I would wake up at around 7:00 AM, walk for 20 minutes to the CfA, work until 5:00 PM, eat dinner, work more until 11:30 PM, and then sleep. Over time, I gradually managed to balance work and sleep! But I absolutely loved working at the CfA, particularly because I was surrounded by incredibly talented and kind researchers. The environment was wonderful and I soon got to know some of the other people who worked there. The walls of the workspace were filled with astronomical photos of galaxies and nebulae. Here are some photos from the CfA!
In my office, I met two other visiting researchers, one a college student and another a high school student like myself. The college student came from Ireland while the high school student came from China. This diverse environment, coupled with the diversity of the research topics (the former studied molecular interactions and the latter studied cosmological inflation) created a wonderful working space. I also greatly enjoyed the regular lectures that would be held. I attended three lectures during those three weeks. One was on the Illustris Simulation (one of the most advanced simulations of the entire universe on a cosmological scale), another was on star formation and the creation of certain molecular compounds such as water at different locations in the protostellar disk, and the last was on galaxy classification.
One day, my mentor said that he was giving a talk on binary black holes at the Black Hole Institute, which was just a short walk down the street from where we normally worked. He dressed up in a suit and I came just as a visitor, dressed a bit more casually. When we arrived we walked up to the conference room. I was very anxious, despite not being the one giving the talk! Visiting this building and seeing the people there was a distant dream for some time. And suddenly I’m there with physicists I read about online physically around me. Following the talk I met Dr. Doeleman again after those four years! It felt like everything was coming full-circle.
Following the presentation, we walked together to Harvard Square for a coffee at Café Pamplona. I came to love to this café for its quaint, European feel. I especially loved it because of its proximity to a wonderful church (the Church of St. Paul). We then walked through Harvard Yard to the Harvard Library. In this giant, marble construct an original Gutenberg bible is housed. Seeing the book first-hand was perhaps the most surreal moment of the trip. Unfortunately I forgot my phone at my office! During the last week of my stay, I managed to balance my time between doing research and exploring Harvard. I got a chance to visit the Harvard Bookstore several times. I could spend years perusing the used books in the basement! I walked around the campus and took some photos during my travels. Here they are!
I also had the chance to visit the Harvard Art Museum. The museum houses some of the most remarkable works of art, works that I’ve only read about in art books. Here is the museum itself:
And here are some of the works of art:
This environment was, for me, near paradise. To be able to work on astrophysics research only fifteen minutes away from such an art museum is to project my identity (which consists of a dual love of art and science) onto a physical, topological space. I greatly enjoyed my time at the CfA and on the Harvard campus. These next few weeks I’m finishing up my work and paper and getting ready to submit it to research competitions. I am incredibly grateful for both Professor Shapiro and Dr. D’Orazio for making this opportunity possible. I am further grateful for the support I received from my high school mentors and my family. This has truly been a wonderful experience!
